4-4-2 Atlantic
The 4-4-2 Atlantic is a locomotive in the game Railroad Tycoon II. It becomes available in 1902 is a very fast train useful for Express Passenger services. This is because it has a very high top speed, coupled with decent running costs, as well as good acceleration and reliability. However, it's downfall is the fact that it performs terribly with both grades and heavy loads. It can still pull a 3 passengers + dining set at a comfortable 55mph when at full speed. This locomotive is a viable replacement for all Ten Wheeler's that are assigned to medium/long haul passenger services, as the Atlantic is much faster, and will make up the profit on longer journeys despite the higher running costs. Because of it's running costs, and hauling ability, the Atlantic should not be considered on shorter passenger routes, or for freight cargo at all. One should also be wary of the Atlantic dreadful grade ability. Even on grades as little as 2%, the Atlantic will struggle to find speed, and one shouldn't use it when a hill is involved, and other locomotives such as the Ten Wheeler and the Mogul should be sourced. When the Pacific locomotive is available in 1908, it should be preferred over the Atlantic for long-distance routes, due to it's superior speed. However, the Atlantic can still be useful for medium distance passenger services right up until the Class B12 comes up in 1923, due to the Atlantic still being relatively cheap to run, but also quick compared to other engines of the same era. Comparison History While the wheel arrangement and type name Atlantic would come to fame in the fast passenger service competition between railroads in the United States by mid-1895, the tank locomotive version of the 4-4-2 Atlantic type first made its appearance in the United Kingdom in 1880, when William Adams designed the 1 Class 4-4-2T of the London, Tilbury and Southend Railway (LT&SR). The tender version of the 4-4-2 originated in the United States of America, evolving from the less stable 2-4-2 Columbia type wheel arrangement, and was built especially for mainline passenger express services. One advantage of the type over its predecessor 4-4-0 American type was that the trailing wheels allowed a larger and deeper firebox to be placed behind the driving wheels. The original Atlantics in the United States were built with the hauling of wood-frame passenger cars in mind and came in a variety of configurations, including the four-cylinder Vauclain compound which had previously been used on express 4-4-0 American, 4-6-0 Ten-wheeler and 2-4-2 Columbia locomotives. Around the 1910s, railroads started buying heavier steel passenger cars, which precipitated the introduction of the 4-6-2 Pacific type as the standard passenger locomotive. Nonetheless, the Chicago and North Western, Southern Pacific, Santa Fe and Pennsylvania railroads used 4-4-2 Atlantics until the bitter end of steam locomotive fleets in the 1950s, with some even being used in light local freight switching service. Although Atlantics were sometimes used as mountain helpers prior to the First World War, they were not well-suited for mountain or for very long distance operations. They had large-diameter driving wheels, in some cases exceeding 72 inches (1,829 millimetres), which were adequate for 70 to 100 miles per hour (110 to 160 kilometres per hour) trains, although they tended to oscillate at higher speeds. Climbing any substantial grade required a smaller driving wheel diameter for better adhesion, or more driving wheels for better traction. By the mid-1920's, the 4-6-2 was much preferred both in the United States and the United Kingdom, due to it being able to produce much more power, and in turn greater speed. Category:Locomotives Category:Steam Locomotives Category:Railroad Tycoon II